This disclosure relates to a medical device and more particularly to a device used to control or modulate delivery of a fluid to a patient during a medical procedure.
There are some medical procedures that require that a fluid be delivered to a specific body part or site within a human body. One such procedure is the delivery of a contrast agent within a human body for the diagnosis or treatment of coronary vascular disease. For example, a contrast agent may be used during an angiography or angioplasty and the placement of a stent. The contrast agent is introduced into the blood stream and an X-ray or fluoroscopic image is taken to assist a physician in diagnosis or treatment of the heart. Although the use of the contrast agent is employed, there is a concern that injection of too much of the contrast agent within the body could be harmful or toxic. In particular, Contrast Induced Nephropathy (CIN) is a form of kidney damage caused by the effects of dyes or radiopaque contrast media or agents used by cardiologists to image the heart during a heart procedure. The dye used may be toxic and too much of the dye may cause damage to the kidneys or failure of the kidneys. It is also possible that a patient may not be healthy enough to have a contrast agent used. However, the physician may want to take the risk and use the contrast agent in order to diagnose or treat the patient. In this case, it may be required to reduce the amount of contrast agent used in an attempt to reduce the damage that the agent may cause.
In an attempt to reduce the amount of contrast agent introduced into the patient various other less toxic chemicals have been used. However, such chemicals may reduce the visibility of the image produced. Another attempt has been to employ a collection system in which the contrast agent is collected downstream after an image has been produced. Yet, this requires a complex system and an individual to operate the collection system. Another attempt has been the use of an automated system to inject the contrast agent. The automated system tends to be expensive, cumbersome to use in a lab, and require training to properly use to gain experience in the use of the automated system.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a device for controlling fluid delivery during a medical procedure to limit the amount of fluid being injected or introduced into a human body. It would be advantageous to have a device for controlling fluid delivery that is capable of being used with a manifold delivery system and a catheter system. It would also be advantageous to have a device for controlling fluid delivery that may be easily manipulated or used by a physician to control the amount of a contrast agent being introduced into a human body during diagnosis or treatment of an organ.